Sydney

Landmark Darwin Airports Sell

2011-03-17T05:00:00Z

The Darwin Airport Resort and Darwin Airport Inn have been sold by a local syndicate headed by Darwin identity John Robinson.The transaction was brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ Senior Vice President – Investment Sales, Wayne Bunz.Built in 2005, the Darwin Airport Resort is a four star property providing 181 rooms, restaurant and bar, large tropical pool with pool bar, three conference rooms and gymnasium. The Darwin Airport Inn was constructed in 2008 as a more contemporary corporate hotel and features 136 guest rooms, boardroom, two conference rooms, business centre, a restaurant and bar which overlook a swimming pool, as well as extensive car parking.The hotels are located at the entrance to Darwin Airport and are linked by a dedicated pathway that takes guests less than five minutes to walk between.Mr Bunz said, “Airport hotels in general have long been regarded as one of the most profitable hotel operation models, and true to reputation, both of these hotels quickly established themselves in the marketplace and have since enjoyed strong occupancy and average daily rate growth profiles.”“There are less than 10 major airport hotels in Australia. The high barriers to entry, together with the advantages of their unique location and the impact this has on profitability, means that airport hotels are an excellent investment, and as such, are rarely sold and are highly coveted,” said Mr Bunz. He added, “We received strong local and offshore interest throughout the expression of interest campaign as investors recognised that this sale offered the chance to acquire two strongly performing airport hotels with no competition in a market that is likely to grow from strength to strength in the coming years on the back of a diverse local economy.”Over the past five years accommodation in the Darwin tourism region has recorded strong RevPAR growth, increasing on average by 7.0% per annum, despite having to absorb approximately 1,000 new hotel rooms over the past few years. The demand for hotel accommodation has been primarily driven by the burgeoning gas and oil operations which have made the Northern Territory’s economy almost insular the weakened global economic environment over the past three years.